Dulling down oil paints

Hi everyone, can anybody advise what to use to use to dull down oil paints that have dried with a shine. I have heard reference in previous threads to dullcote and was wondering if this was a specific brand or just a generic term.

I paint with artist oils over humbrol enamel base colours. I currently have some humbrol Matt cote and some life colour acrylic Matt cote and was wondering if either of these would work ( would the enamel based humbrol react with the oil paint and start lifting it or would the acrylic be able to key to the oil finish?).

I would also like to know if I should apply the Matt cote once I have completed the figure or would I be able to do the affected area without it causing me issues when I come to paint the unaffected areas.

Neal, don't know where you're from but Testors Dullcote is widely available. It comes as brush on and spray can.http://www.modeldisplayproducts.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=75&product_id=358
It's the brush on you need. Critical thing is carefully 'lay' it on the area you want to be matt, don't overwork it as it has a fairly quick initial drying time and it's easy to end up with pronounced brush strokes visible.
I've never had any problem painting over it just make sure it's completely dry.
Cheers
Derek

I'll third DullCote. I use it as my standard matte sealer, regardless of the medium underneath.

Going forward, if you that same paint again, you might want to add something to matte the finish. I use a wax medium (Dorland's) with oils, when I want to make the finish matte. The wax dissolves into very fine particles in the paint, and these provide the rough surface that scatters the light instead of reflecting it, which is what provides the matte look.

I've just tried to paint an Alpine Panzer crewman with straight oils (Rembrandt Ivory Black) and the shine scared me to the extent that I took it all off. I hadn't done as you suggest i.e. to put it in card but rather had used it straight onto a white tile. I know that black pigments tend to be gloss so am I fighting a losing battle? I wondered whether doing as you suggest but then using some Liquin might work?

I'm currently applying an acrylic undercoat in the colours I want on my figures, and then painting over in oils using a solvent - white spirit or Zest it - which dulls them down, together with drying them in an old crock pot (slow cooker) on low with the lid off for 12 hours which takes any shine off them. Also W&N Artisan water based oils tend to dry matt, especially with a solvent.

Depending on the material that the figure is made from, in the future you could dry it by heating in an oven on low/warm, or a crock pot on low. When you dry oils this way, they become dead flat. I think the heating removes the oils and leaves just the pigment. Absolutely dead flat. I have done this with resin figures no problem, but of course if you heat them too much, items like sword blades may droop. As far as Dullcote goes, shake it well and test it before spraying your figure. Over time, Dullcote can go bad and actually go on frosty white. When you buy it in a bottle for airbrushing, you can see it separate, but shaking it remixes it. The spray dullcote seems to go bad and no amount of shaking makes it better.

I've tried various supposedly "matt" varnishes (including W&N) but none of them have worked. At best they've given me a satin finish, at worst a high gloss shine.

Dullcote however I do find does the job.

Some guys swear by a "light box". I've tried that as well, but with mixed results (sometimes it's helped, sometimes it hasn't).

This past year or so I've taken to mixing a small amount of Abteilung 502 "Matt Effect Thinner" in with my oil paints, and I've also found that to be very effective in flattening down any sheen. Not the cheapest solution, but it does work very well, and on all colours. At least in my experience.

I hadn't done as you suggest i.e. to put it in card but rather had used it straight onto a white tile.

Yes, always do this. It makes a big difference. Put it on a square of card so that the oil can leach away. I'd even go as far as to say leave it for as long as you can before the paint starts to dry out (and even then you can 'reactivate' it with a bit of 502 - see above - if it's not too far gone).

Hi
There is a hell of a lot of oil to be taken out ...before you can begin to do anything with oil paints
Having got the excess oil out on a piece of card ;;;;;I use lavender oil as a medium
it makes the paint go on smoothly.......... now and then if i have a glossy area
Vellejo matt varnish ....sorts it out

Food for thought there but I might have a practice on a scrap figure before I apply heat to my pride and joy!

If you do decide to use heat, whichever method you choose (oven or slow cooker with the lid off) keep the heat low - its not so much about temperature, but the application of low heat over a period of time that dulls them down. I use it simply to speed up the drying process while working on a model.